


Imagine Me and You

by shutthefrukup



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Drama, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Humor, M/M, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Content, Religion, gays, lots of gay stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-05
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-18 10:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5924196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shutthefrukup/pseuds/shutthefrukup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Amelia are in a committed and loving relationship...until the night they come out to one another.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be really dumb, just an fyi before you start reading. Picture your stereotypical rom-com type thing because that's pretty much what it is. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy

Amelia was never really a morning person until she woke up next to Arthur. She hadn't ever bothered to watch a sunrise or to enjoy the act of stretching her limbs after a good night’s sleep. But mornings had become an intimate ritual since Arthur had come along, although it seemed as if Arthur had always been there anyway. They rolled out of bed, brushing their teeth side by side and Arthur would make some comment about the Superman boxer shorts that Amelia wore to bed. The banter continued as they made their coffee and their tea and changed from pajamas into clothes. It was toothpaste and coffee stains and button down shirts, these morning rituals they shared. Soon they were both out the door and the day had begun.   
  
She was the ship and he was the anchor. Arthur had always been the rather level-headed type. He took his job seriously and wouldn't let much ruffle his feathers (unless you took his family into account). Then there was Amelia. Since they had met as young college students, she had been the constant noise to Arthur's life. Amelia Jones wasn't afraid of anything. She was bold and brash and larger than life. She was a bit large in fact, her soft curves and bouncy blond curls enough to knock a man out just as well as her fists could. This wild woman had practically pulled Arthur up by the straps of his suspenders and captured his heart.   
  
Amelia loved Marvel movies and large pepperoni pizzas and baseball games. Arthur enjoyed rock n' roll and cups of Earl Grey and falling asleep while watching daytime soap operas on the telly. She always made fun of him for calling it the telly. She made fun of him for a lot of things. Amelia was loud and fun and could kick anyone's ass at Call of Duty. Arthur wasn't particularly good at video games but he played just to humor her. They were best friends, two peas in different pods. It wasn't surprising that they had been in a very committed relationship for years. The two of them had lived together for about a year and everyone was simply waiting until Arthur proposed.   
  
Well, everyone besides Amelia and Arthur.   
  
  


It was a weeknight like any other; the two of them sat side by side on the couch with an empty pizza box on the coffee table and a couple of beers. Amelia had gotten Arthur into Breaking Bad (they were already on the second season after a weekend of binge-watching) and that's how they often spent their evenings. Neither of them particularly enjoyed cooking so it was usually Chinese takeout or pizza or something that came in a box that was easy enough for either  of them to cook without messing up entirely. 

The only thing out of the ordinary that night was the anxious feeling that had been bubbling in Amelia’s stomach for the past week. It was a bad anxious feeling, not like having excited butterflies. These butterflies were vicious and it felt as if they were trying to tear Amelia apart. She glanced over at Arthur sitting next to her. Sweet, regular Arthur. Arthur who was always grumpy and wore argyle socks on his feet that were now propped up on the coffee table. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was oblivious of his girlfriend looking at him. Arthur was home, he was comfort, he was like a brother almost. That was the problem, actually. 

 

“Hey, Artie,” Amelia said, interrupting their TV-watching. 

 

Arthur turned his head to look at her and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Is something wrong?” 

 

Amelia paused the TV, her gaze now focused on the goofy-looking stilled image of Walter White on the screen. She let out a little sigh as she felt the anxiety continue bubbling, threatening to bubble over and spill everywhere. Arthur could tell she had something to say and gave her a questioning look. He turned towards Amelia to shift all of his attention to her but that just seemed to make Amelia feel even more terrified. 

 

“Love, you can tell me if there’s something wrong. Is it work? Did something happen at work?” Arthur asked. 

 

Amelia shook her head and looked back at Arthur. Stupid Arthur, all familiar and comforting and brotherly. Horribly stupid Arthur, who was home to Amelia whether she liked it or not. The problem in all this was that he was so regular. He was the one thing keeping Amelia grounded that she wanted in a friend but never in a lover. 

 

“No...you know, it’s nothing. It’s stupid. No big deal,” Amelia laughed nervously. “Forget it, let’s just keep watching.” 

 

“Amelia I know when there’s something bothering you,” Arthur said. He leaned over and snatched the TV remote out of her hands so that she couldn’t resume the program. The TV screen was still stuck on that stupid image of Walter White and if Amelia took one more look at it she felt as if she were going to be sick. So she looked at Arthur’s feet instead in those dumb pink and green argyle socks. 

 

“Artie, really, it’s no-”

 

“Come on, you can tell me. Is it something embarrassing? Will I laugh?” Arthur began to badger her, a little grin now appearing on his face. “Look, if it’s a secret then I promise to keep it. You know me, I don’t kiss and tell.”

 

_ Which is true _ , Amelia thought to herself,  _ due to the fact of our non-existent sex life.  _ Something she blamed herself for and also had convinced herself that Arthur was a good Catholic and didn’t want sex before marriage anyway. 

 

Amelia tried to grab the remote back from Arthur, but didn’t succeed. “No, it’s not embarrassing. It just doesn’t really matter. Let’s just keep watching the show, you’ve gotta see how this ends.”    
  


“Please tell me? I’m so curious. Besides, you can’t just bring something up like that and not tell me.” That was the thing about Arthur; deadly stubborn. 

 

Amelia let out another heavy sigh. Her anxieties were now beginning to bubble over, spilling out like water boiling out of a pot and on to the stove. She couldn’t help it, couldn’t take it anymore. The butterflies in her stomach would eat her alive. 

 

“I’m gay.” 

  
  


The two of them were quiet for a few minutes that seemed like an eternity. Amelia could feel the anxiety in her chest still there, but deflating as if somebody had poked a needle through the balloon in her chest. Arthur hadn’t said anything at all. They were both still looking at his feet propped up there on the coffee table, their coffee table. Sitting on their couch in their apartment. Amelia felt her heart beating hard as if she just just gone for a long run. When Arthur finally looked up at her, he didn’t look mad or surprised or any reaction that Amelia had expected. He wasn’t angry, he was laughing. 

 

“Artie…?”

 

“Holy shit," He laughed. "You've got to be kidding me.” 

 

Amelia was now the one to look confused. “ Arthur I'm sorry, What do you-”

 

“Me too. I’m gay.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter of the dumbest fan fiction I've ever written! Sorry that these first couple of chapters are sort of a whirlwind and that they're both pretty short, it's going to mellow out and get into the actual story after this. Enjoy <3

"Me too. I'm gay."

 

The two of them looked at one another for a moment as Arthur slowly broke out into a strange sort of laughter. Amelia shook her head, beginning to laugh a little bit herself.

 

“You’re shitting me. Stop it, Arthur. You’re shitting me right now. This isn’t funny.” Amelia said, slapping his leg.

 

Arthur kept laughing, feeling surprise and disbelief and terror all at once. “Holy shit...I’m sorry, I wasn’t...shit…”

 

Amelia still couldn’t quite believe what had happened only moments before when quite randomly and suddenly they had both come out to one another. Well, it wasn’t exactly random in her case. She had planned to come out at some point in her life but never had she imagined like this. Never had she imagined that Arthur was, well, gay either.

 

The two of them laughed for a moment, then suddenly Amelia felt the knot in her chest get tighter. They had both come out but it had been so sudden. It was so sudden and so quick and-

 

“Hey, Amelia, don’t cry.” Arthur’s joking tone had vanished as his girlfriend began to sob. “Shhh, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

 

Arthur hugged Amelia tight as she cried into his shirt. They sat together on the couch still, Amelia in Arthur’s arms. It had only been an hour or so but everything had happened so quickly and all at once that she had become overwhelmed. Amelia clung onto his shirt, crying into and muttering things that Arthur’s couldn’t quite make out. He continued to hold her though, letting her get the emotion all out. Arthur had never really been the crying type, as his eyes remained dry.

 

“It’s going to be alright, love, it’s okay,” Arthur murmured and kissed the top of her head. “This all just happened very quickly, just please take some deeps breaths and we can talk about this.”

 

It took a few more minutes of crying and comforting until Amelia let go of Arthur, still sniffling. Her eyes were red and wide with some sort of fright that ad just now come to her. Arthur recognized the feeling as something he knew as well and took her hand in his.

 

“Okay, we need to talk. Obviously, there’s a lot we haven’t told each other before now.” Arthur said calmly.

 

Amelia nodded in agreement and sniffled once more. “Yeah, look Artie, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have even told you. I wasn’t ever gonna tell you in the first place but it’s been bothering me and I had to. You have to know but I can’t have anyone else know. God, if my mom found out…” She began to look as if she were going to cry again.

 

“Your mom won’t find out because I won’t tell her unless you want to tell her. Same goes for my parents, okay? They can’t know either. Never, actually.”

 

“That’s the problem though, I don’t want to go the rest of our lives like this. Who says our fucking parents have to dictate what we do with our lives? We’re adults now for fuck’s sake,” Amelia had started to cry again. “We don’t need their approval anymore. I just don’t think I could ever tell them.”

 

They were both silent besides the quiet sniffling of Amelia. Arthur looked down at the carpet and frowned. This was too sudden for him. Everything had happened too suddenly for him. He liked time to think about things. To think, to assess, to form a plan or reaction. This had not given him the opportunity for any of that. He hadn’t planned on coming out to Amelia ever, just as much as she hadn’t planned it. It had just happened.

 

“Let’s start small, okay? When did you decide to come out to me?” Arthur asked.

 

“It’s been on my mind forever. I guess I considered coming out to you for a few months now. It’s not you though, please don’t think there’s somebody else. I’m gay but I’m not cheating on you, I promise. I guess...I guess I’ve just always known.” Amelia blew her nose into her shirt sleeve.

 

“I trust you. Please, trust me too when I say I haven’t cheated on you either. I wouldn’t do that to you. Even if I’ve never been attracted to you, you’re still my best friend Amelia. I’ve always just known, I guess. It’s not like I was ever going to tell anybody though. If my parents ever caught wind of this I’d be at conversion therapy and church camp for the rest of my life.”

 

Amelia let out a little understanding chuckle when Arthur mentioned church camp. Both of their parents were strictly religious; Arthur coming from a strict Catholic family and Amelia the daughter of a Baptist priest. That was the sole reason why they were together. Mr. and Mrs. Jones couldn’t get enough of perfect little gentleman Arthur and Mr. and Mrs. Kirkland were not-so-patiently awaiting many grandchildren. Church camp or conversion therapy of sorts was too realistic to think about at the moment though. Arthur sat forward on the couch  with his chin in his hands and his elbows resting on his thighs.

 

“It’s strange how this has happened and I’m sorry. I suppose that’s all I can be right now...I’m sorry, love. I’m sorry for not telling you when we met even though I’ve been convinced I was straight all my life. I’m sorry for not being honest and I’m sorry for a couple years now of bad sex and stupid dates and I’m the most sorry for what happens next.”

 

Amelia looked at Arthur, her eyes still wet with tears. “Artie...what _does_ happen now?”

 

Arthur looked back up her with a frown still on his face. “I-I dunno. I don’t know, actually. What do you think we should do?”

 

“If this isn’t what we want then I don’t think we should keep doing this. I don’t want to have to pretend for the rest of my life,” Amelia’s voice was still shaky. “Neither of us can tell our families...I don’t know, maybe we will just have to spend the rest of our lives pretending.”

 

Suddenly, Arthur’s face lit up with some sort of realization. It was the sort of face he made when he had a plan. He had always been quite good at plans. “That’s exactly it. You’re brilliant, that’s exactly what we’ll do!”

 

“What do you mean? Artie, I just said that I don’t want to pretend for my entire life. It’s not something I would think you’d be happy about for God’s sake.” Amelia said, giving him a strange look.

 

“No, I mean we can pretend to pretend. Get it? Like we pretend to be together for our parents but we can go off and see other people. You know, as in other people of the same gender. Get what I’m trying to say?”

 

“Oh you mean like we can be each other’s cover stories?” Amelia asked, catching on now to their plan. “Like we’re gonna be dating for our parents but that’s just a cover so I can have a girlfriend and you can have a boyfriend!”

 

Arthur nodded and small grin appeared on his face. “That is exactly what I’m thinking. If our parents ask, we’re still dating and everything is fine. They’ll never have to find any of this out. Besides, we’ll still live together so nobody will suspect a thing.”

At that, Amelia made a little face. “Um, Artie? I’m not assuming that either of us will get that far because we’re both gay virgins who have only been out of the closet for about an hour now, but what if…” Her voice faltered for a moment as she tried to find the words to voice her concern. “What if, uh, I don’t know. I mean, uh, what if one of us brings someone home or something? Because I don’t wanna have to sit on the couch and hear you and some other guy getting it up th-”

 

“We can figure that out later,” Arthur cut her off quickly. “We can figure all of that out at a later time, okay? Honestly I’m less concerned about losing my gay virginity than I am about having nobody find out about any of this.”

 

“Agreed.” Amelia said and gave him a brief nod.

 

“Good, then it’s settled. From here on out we are the straightest homosexuals to ever exist.” Arthur said with a little laugh.

 

“Says the man in pink argyle socks.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry this chapter has taken a little while to get up. Don't expect chapters very frequently, I'm trying the best I can. Hope you enjoy <3

“Today is the day I will teach you how to flirt.” 

Arthur and Amelia sat outside together at a coffee shop watching people pass by. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and it had been nearly an entire week since they had come out to one another. The night that had started as a full-fledged mess had turned into something not half bad. The awkwardness was still there, as it always would be, but they were beginning to realize that it had sort of been apparent all along. Amelia had revealed how she had prior experience with girls (behind her mother’s back, of course) and Arthur had been a fall-back plan. Arthur couldn't quite take offense to that though because he understood. He, on the other hand, was revealed to be far less experienced and far less knowledgeable. Homosexuality always had some sort of taboo built around it as Arthur was growing up and he found himself unable to escape some of the things that had been ingrained in him. It wasn't taking long though for the two of them to open up to each other and slowly begin to talk more openly. It was becoming sort of a joke how neither had seen it in the other before. They were both so stereotypical it was almost funny.

Amelia sat across from Arthur that morning wearing a flannel over a Captain America t-shirt and sipping her coffee. The two of them were sort of leaned in close so they could talk without anyone really being able to hear exactly what they were saying. Amelia was taking the time to point out any remotely attractive male and suggest that Arthur chase after him.

“Amelia, I don’t need to be taught how to flirt,” Arthur replied and took a sip of his tea. He was wearing John Lennon sunglasses that were supposed to conceal whether or not he was checking someone out (this was Amelia’s idea).

“What about that one?” Amelia remarked with complete disregard to what Arthur had said.

She was pointing at a man walking by who had to be around 45 with the typical salt-and-pepper short haircut and middle-aged dad fashion. Arthur gave her a look over his glasses and shook his head.

“You’re joking, he’s got to be ancient. He probably has grandchildren. He’s a dinosaur for fuck’s sake.” Arthur laughed.

“I don’t know, maybe he’s actually just mature for his age. You like mature guys, right Artie? You like them older, more experienced…” Amelia laughed and gave him a little wink.

Arthur felt himself go red in the cheeks and glared at his girlfriend across the table. “I’ve literally been out of the closet for 5 days and you’re already giving me shit like this. What about your type then? Do you like really butch girls with the short haircuts and all that? Maybe got some tattoos or something, wears a strap-on-”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry I said anything!” Amelia was still laughing but was now blushing as well.

“You know, you’ve got a lot of nerve thinking you’re going to teach me how to flirt with men. You’re the walking lesbian stereotype yourself. If you googled ‘typical lesbian’ your picture would show up in the images.”

Amelia looked down at her flannel and then back up at Arthur. “Okay, no need to attack me. I know I’m kind of a stereotype but that doesn’t mean you aren’t either. Have you even looked at the shit you wear?”

“I don’t know what’s so gay about my sweaters…” Arthur muttered.

“Yeah, also your godawful sweater vests and suspenders and pants you bought to match that guy from One Direction. Did I mention the bowties? Or those dumb short sleeved button downs with polka dot patterns that make you look like the twinkiest twink ever? Don’t even get me started on the waistcoats.”

Arthur rolled his eyes as Amelia listed off everything his wardrobe consisted of. “Yeah, and you claim to be the one feeling attacked. I’ll admit, maybe my clothing can be a bit stereotypical sometimes but I’m not  _ that _ gay. I mean, you couldn’t tell if you had just met me, could you?”

“No offense Arthur, but you write for a home and garden magazine, you sing show tunes in the shower, and you like to do embroidery. You’re kind of stereotypically gay. If I met you on the street, I would immediately think Brokeback Mountain.” Amelia said.

Arthur sat back in his chair and let out a grumpy little huff, crossing his arms over his chest. “I'm not  _ that  _ gay. If I was  _ that _ gay then you would've known before we started dating.”

“Artie, I've been so busy worrying about my own gayness I'm pretty sure I overlooked yours. I mean, besides all the things you do to reinforce your stereotype, I guess I just figured that it was better to say I had boyfriend instead of  girlfriend. You're like my mom’s son-in-law fantasy guy anyway.” Amelia said, letting that last part slip out before realizing what she had said.

Arthur frowned up at Amelia when she mentioned her mother. “Wow that makes me feel a hell of a lot better about coming out…”

“I didn't mean it like that. I mean that you were a good fit. Personality wise, I mean. Let's be real here, we don't exactly fit together in the way either of us want to.”

Arthur snorted and a sort of smirk appeared on his face once more. “You have a point. Which brings me to my own original point; why on earth do you think you’re going to help me find a guy? Don't you think it's strange that a week ago we were a normal couple and now you want to dive into this headfirst?”

“I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t dive into this headfirst. We’re not getting any younger here, Artie. Besides the fact that we’re faking it for our parents, we’re both single and fresh out of the closet,” Amelia said.

“You make it sound as if we’ve been reborn as the cast of Rent.”

“Could you stop being negative for like five seconds? What I’m trying to tell you is that I don’t think we should live with restrictions anymore. I’m done with restrictions and I have been for a really long time. Now are you just gonna sit there and be negative or are you gonna go out and find yourself a hot guy?”

Arthur looked down into his cup of tea. Everything that had occurred recently for him had been confusing. They both knew that Amelia knew more about this entire thing than he did. She had more prior knowledge about her sexuality and had simply been waiting for the right time to come out of the closet. But Arthur? No, he hadn’t even been thinking what came out of his mouth that night. He almost wanted to take it back and say that he was joking because the thing about being unsure of yourself is that it’s quite often a terrifying experience.

“I don’t think I’ll be finding any ‘hot guys’ anytime soon but yes, I see your point. Look, you can see whoever you want because you know that no matter what happens to us, I still care about you. I don’t want to force anything for myself but I want you to be happy and I want you to know that you have my support,” Arthur said. 

“Thanks Artie, and thanks for the motivational speech too,” Amelia said with a little laugh.

Arthur tried to give her a grumpy look but couldn’t help but smile the tiniest bit. “Oh, shut it. That was from the heart.” 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> new chapter! please remember, this is not meant to be enforcing any type of belief or stereotype. It is simply using humor as a way to talk about various beliefs and stereotypes and how we portray them. It is a work of comedic and somewhat satirical fiction, please keep this in mind in the future.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoy <3

Arthur’s tie was much too tight and he could feel sweat dripping slowly down the back of his neck like the condensation on his water glass. He continuously glanced at the clock as if he had somewhere to be. There wasn’t anywhere he needed to be but there were plenty of other places he wished he was. If there were any place in the world that felt the most uncomfortable to be in, it was his mother’s dining room. 

The walls were a disgusting shade of old granny pink and the carpet was both pristine and ancient. The table itself was long enough to seat five rowdy children and two adults but at that moment it was only needed to seat four. Arthur glanced to Amelia beside him who looked lovely yet tense in a floral patterned dress. She was listening intently and politely to his parents speak. Arthur kept looking from his plate to the living room beside them with the wall decorated in family photos and crucifixes. His tie seemed to be strangling him at the sight of the “This Nest Is Blessed” hand-painted sign over the doorway. He looked back to his parents and couldn’t help but feel like throwing up right there on his plate of ham and mashed potatoes. 

“Arthur, dear, are you alright?”

His mother’s voice quickly snapped him out of his trance. Arthur quickly shoveled more mashed potatoes into his mouth and nodded. “Yeah mum, ‘m fine.”

“Arthur, don’t talk with your mouth full. It’s rude,” His father scolded.

Amelia glanced at Arthur and seemed that she was trying not to laugh. It was funny to see her ‘boyfriend’ be scolded like a little kid again. Arthur simply rolled his eyes and swallowed his mouthful of potatoes.

“As I was saying, it’s so lovely to see you again Amelia. I haven’t seen your parents in quite some time. We must get together again. Wonderful people, they are,” Arthur’s mother continued chattering away.

“Yeah, they would love to see you guys. All of you together are just like peas in a pod,” Amelia laughed, “you know you should come over to our place sometime, Mrs. Kirkland. Artie and I can make dinner for you!”

A horrified expression suddenly came across Arthur’s face and he looked at Amelia as if to say, ‘what the fuck are you doing?’ Not only were both of them completely incapable of cooking a decent meal but with what had happened recently Arthur didn’t want his parents anywhere near him or his apartment. But no, Amelia just ignored Arthur and continued chirping happily away.

“That is fantastic idea, Amelia. We would love to come over some time. Get everyone together for a special night, isn’t that right Arthur?” Arthur’s father said this with enthusiasm and a detectable hint of ‘when are you going to propose and get her knocked up?’

“Yeah dad...special night…” Arthur took a long drink of water and looked away from them back into the living room. 

He could hear his mother and Amelia making plans and discussing her parents and church and things of that matter. Arthur was tuned out as he had a staring contest with one of the wooden Jesus Christ’s sitting on the coffee table. Not all religious people were homophobic and Arthur was aware of that. Love thy neighbor, right? But of course he had gotten stuck with the homophobic ones. Of course he had. Just his luck. His eyes then wandered to a picture of him with all of his brothers. It was before his youngest and only sister was born and the boys were all standing together at the zoo. It had been when the were all very young and before the family had made their big move across the pond. The oldest, Alistair, was giving little Arthur a noogie with a big troublesome grin on his face. Poor little Arthur on the receiving end of the noogie was holding a stuffed bunny and looking utterly miserable. Even though he had been miserable in that moment, Arthur could remember the trip to the zoo fondly. He had been a decently happy kid but if he had been able to see into the future, would he have liked what he saw? Back then it was all ‘girls have cooties’ but could he have known that he would still feel the same way as an adult?

“Amelia, it was lovely to see you. We are very much looking forward to coming over for dinner. You take care of this one now,” Mrs. Kirkland said with a laugh and they all looked at Arthur.

He quickly looked away from the pictures and came back down to earth. “Yeah mum, real funny.” Arthur rolled his eyes again and got up from the table.

They were all getting up and while Amelia offered to stick around help do the dishes, Arthur was verging on desperate to get back home. They all said their goodbyes and each goodbye to his parents seemed to be a more pressing version of the fact that he needed to propose to his fake girlfriend. Arthur felt the sudden urge to scream and he nearly would have if his tie hadn’t been choking him so tightly.

“Artie what the fuck is your problem?” Amelia asked him once they got back into the car. She was at the wheel and Arthur was in the passenger’s seat staring out the window.

“Why did you invite them to dinner? Do you know how awful of a move that is? We can’t do that! We can hardly cook, let alone the other issues at hand!”

“I invited them to be polite. They’re your parents for fuck’s sake! Artie, at least I’m making an effort to make us look functional. You didn’t even look at me the entire goddamn time! We’re ‘in love?’ Really convincing, Artie, real fucking convincing. You didn’t look at me, you didn’t talk to me, you didn’t even hold my hand on the way back to the car or open the door for me! The fact that this was  _ your _ idea and you’re not following through is really pissing me off.”

They were both quiet for a very long time after that. The car ride was silent until they reached home. Arthur sat awkwardly running it all over in his mind. He wasn’t sure what to say next besides all the obvious things. She had a point though. They were supposed to be acting and he hadn’t put on a very convincing performance that night. They finally got home after a very tense car ride. Amelia parked the car and sat there for a moment before turning to look at Arthur.

“Artie...I’m sorry. But you know that I’m right. If we’re really going to do this then we need to really do this. I know tonight was bad for you but we’re going to get through this, okay?”

They were both quiet again and Arthur nodded slowly. He spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, “I’m just really scared.”

“Me too. I’m scared too.”

 

 

It was a Friday night after work and Amelia had been invited out for drinks with a couple of her co-workers. It was starting to become different now even though it technically wasn't’t. Ever since she had come out to Arthur, Amelia felt more free in a way. Not that she didn’t always go out with her friends on Friday nights but there was still a feeling of being free. It wasn’t being free from Arthur either. Arthur was truly a nice man and Amelia would never have anything against her best friend. But yet there was this freedom that was present, that was more prominent and somewhat refreshing. 

Amelia and her friends sat at the bar and ordered drinks. It was typical that they would do this every so often, drink and gossip. The ladies were doing just that when suddenly a large group of women entered the bar and sat down beside them. One of Amelia’s friends looked over at the group and laughed a little bit.

“Rugby or softball, because they sure as hell don’t look like wine moms,” her friend joked.

Amelia glanced at the group of rough-and-tumble women in athletic jerseys who had now piled in next to them. She couldn’t help but laugh a bit herself. 

“Definitely softball. I know, I used to play. I was a catcher actually,” Amelia said.

Her friends laughed. “The catcher’s always a lesbian, right? Is that why you quit?”

“No way, I was really good! I was the best catcher in the league. I was like fucking Yogi Berra.”

“Okay you know you can’t talk baseball to me, I have no idea,” One of her friends laughed. 

They continued talking about things other than sports, but Amelia couldn’t help but look every so often at the women beside them. It must have been a women’s league that played on Fridays nights. Amelia would have know; she had been in a women’s league before. She hadn’t been lying when she said she had been a great athlete either. Especially for being a bigger girl, Amelia had always been impressively athletic. Seeing all those women together made her suddenly miss playing sports as a young girl.

After a few drinks it had gotten late and Amelia and her friends were ready to leave. Her friends left first and Amelia went to use the bathroom before leaving. Coming back out of the bathroom, Amelia glanced around to see if her friends had left. There was no sign of them so they had for sure left the bar. The women’s league was still occupying the bar though and there was one woman in particular who had caught Amelia’s attention. With all the courage in the world that she could muster at that moment, Amelia sidled up to the bar beside the softball players.

“Hey, you know I used to play softball too. Can I buy you a drink?”

The woman turned to look at Amelia with an amused expression on her face. She was slightly shorter than Amelia but the stool she sat on matched them at exactly the same height. She laughed an adorable laugh that lit up her entire face and nodded.

“What position did you play? And we already bought another round but feel free to join us,” she said.

“Thanks,” Amelia returned the smile and sat down beside the girl, “I was a catcher actually.”

“Oh really? Same here!” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry this chapter took so long to get up. I've been very busy with school and travelling and I just haven't had the time to post the new chapter. But here it is now! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy <3

Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Bases loaded. 

The sun was setting behind the trees, casting shadows over the field and making the player’s shadows appear like those of giants. Amelia sat in the stands which felt odd for her as she had typically been the one of the field her whole life. The crack of the bat, the smell of fresh dirt and grass, the sound of the ball smacking into a leather glove. Being at a softball game again was bringing back some the best memories for Amelia. She had played back in school for years and years. Always the star of the team, she had played multiple positions like an all-star. Back at a field on a warm spring night was bringing back the sounds, smells, and sights that she hadn’t remembered missing that much until then.

“Here we go number four, here we go here we go! You got it, you got it!”

Softball and baseball only had a few real differences; 1) Softball was all girls and baseball was all guys 2) softballs are bigger and you pitch underhand and 3) softball is much noisier. Boys don’t really talk or cheer or yell much but softball games are very loud. Amelia sat on the bench watching the teams cheering and hollering at the girl who was up to bat and at the pitcher who had a one-and-o count. Amelia herself was tempted to stand up and start yelling like the rest of them but it would’ve been slightly embarrassing and she was far too into the game. It was high stakes and anybody’s game. They were down by a run and if the girl at the plate wasn’t struck out then the other team would tie it up and most likely win.

Most of the people on the bench with Amelia, the ones who were not playing but watching, were all husbands or friends or children of the women. It was an after-work women’s softball league. It wasn’t anything serious, the women played in sweatpants and tshirts and the husbands brought coolers of food and beer and tailgated in the stands. Amelia had sat alone for most of the time but wasn’t bothered by it. She didn’t know anyone there except for the woman crouched behind the plate who had invited her.

There was suddenly an electric feeling in the air, as if time had stopped or slowed down and everything was playing in slow motion. The cheering sounded as if they were underwater and the pitcher’s windup looked as if it were slowed down movement by movement. It hung in the air, that feeling, that electricity that was charged by the energy of the moment. Sure, it didn’t mean anything. No matter who won or lost they were still going to the bar afterward to celebrate. But for that split second it was the most important thing in the world.

 

**_CRACK_ **

 

The ball was suddenly soaring far out into right field. The crowd was yelling and Amelia found herself jumping to her feet to see what happened. The other team had certainly won, this had to be a home run. The right fielder ran like hell all the way out to the fence and suddenly, they were on the ground. The ball was nowhere to be seen. There was a moment of silence as everyone watched and held their breath. Then, the right fielder stood up, holding her glove high in the air with a triumphant smile on her face. 

“I GOT IT!”

The crowd of tailgating husbands and children and all the women in the dugouts went wild. Cheering and screaming, the players from both teams rushed from the dugouts and on to the field. They all ran to the pitcher’s mound and gave each other pats on the back, hugs, and high-fives. Amelia stood watching from the bleachers and she noticed the catcher move away from the celebrating swarm. She lifted up her catcher’s mask and waved at Amelia, giving her a big smile. Amelia smiled and waved back then decided to go down to the dugout.

Once the mass of people had cleared the mound and went to pack up their things, the players began shuffling out of the dugout talking about where they would be going for drinks and who planned on going. An average-sized girl with a ponytail and dirt-covered clothes came out of the dugout tugging along a massive bag of catching gear. A smile lit up her face when she saw Amelia standing there waiting.

“Hey, thank you so much for coming!”

“Don’t worry about it, I loved it! You know, I’m actually considering joining after seeing a game again. Forgot how much I love softball fields.”

The two women laughed and Amelia reached out to take the handle of the gear bag. “Here, let me help with that. You just played a whole game you must be tired.”

“No, no it’s alright, I got it. Thank you though.”

Their hands both grabbed the handle of the bag and for a split second their fingers were intertwined. Amelia stopped and looked up at the other woman.

“Really, Maddie, I got it. Where’s your car? I’ll put it in the trunk.”

Maddie, the other woman, let go of the handle. Her cheeks were pink, either from blushing or exercise or a mixture of both. She nodded and fixed her other equipment bag on her shoulder. “Mine’s the red Subaru over there.”

The two of them walked over to Maddie’s car and Amelia lifted the gear bag into the trunk. Once everything was squared away, the two of them stood beside the car together. The sun was nearly gone and the sky was turning a lovely shade of violet overhead. The evening smelled fresh and clean like summer and warmer days were right around the corner.

“Nice night, huh?” Amelia asked, turning her head to look up at the sky.

Maddie looked up too and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, real nice night. Thanks again for coming. I hope you do join us, it’d be a lot of fun.”

“Yeah it would awesome. I’d love to play with you guys, and thanks for inviting me.”

“Any time, Amelia. Hey, do you wanna come out with us for drinks? We’re all going out and if you wanna come meet more of the team…”

Amelia frowned, knowing that she had to get back home. She had promised Arthur a normal dinner together although more than anything she wanted to go out with the softball team. “Oh, um, I kinda have to get home. I’m really sorry. Maybe after the next game? You know, when I’m playing?”

Maddie suddenly looked very embarrassed and glanced down her feet. “Oh yeah, sure. Um...anyway, yeah. Sorry. Thanks for coming. Have a good night, okay?”

“Yeah you too.”

It was a moment again that felt suspended in time. It was like that final pitch where the entire crowd was holding their breath. Where the movements slowed down and electricity hung between them. Maddie was a cute looking girl but sometimes a certain light can transform someone cute into someone beautiful.  Maybe it was the light, maybe it was being under that violet sunset sky. Maybe it was her hair falling out of the ponytail and over her shoulder, her eyes still bright and excited, the grass and dirt stained t-shirt. Maybe it was how they were so close Amelia could smell the sweat and the mud and maybe it was how she was leaning in ever so slightly. But maybe it was how without thinking, Amelia wrapped her arms around Maddie and hugged her tight.

It wasn’t the world’s longest hug but there was something about it that made Amelia not want to let go. She had to let go though after a few seconds and that electric moment had vanished into thin air. Except this time after the electric moment, there was no applause and no high five or pat on the back. There was just Maddie, looking at Amelia and giving her the smallest of smiles before getting in her car.

“See you later Amelia, have a good night.”

“You too Maddie.”

* * *

 

“My oh my, darlin’ this is just the cutest lil’ spread, you din’ have to do all this for us!” 

Arthur and Amelia quickly shot one another a look that expressed the mutual feeling of  _ ‘when do we tell them that all of this is from Costco?’  _  After that initial thought, Arthur swooped in to save the day with his gentlemanly ways.

“Oh it’s nothing Mrs. Jones, it’s our pleasure to have you all here. Really it’s been such a long time since we’ve seen both of you at once,” Arthur said.

Amelia and Arthur were seated at each head of their kitchen table. On one side were Arthur’s parents. They were dressed up nicely and looked very proper yet on the verge of living in an over-65 community. Amelia’s parents were seated on the opposite side and took up quite the amount of space. Arthur was not a big man and had not come from very big people. Amelia’s father was built like a ox, big and dense and broad-shouldered. He drove a pickup truck with Republican themed bumper stickers and most likely owned a nice collection of shot guns at home. He had always unsettled Arthur even when he was being friendly.

Amelia’s mother was large woman too. She wasn’t really fat but just large in general. She took up lots of space with both her body and her words. Her thick Alabama accent rolled across the table like the tide. Putting a couple of frail and proper Brits and a couple of large and loud Americans together didn’t seem like it would be the best fit. But the strangest part was that Arthur and Amelia’s parents had always gotten along just fine. The reason? Both were bible-thumping conservatives who spent more time at church potluck dinners than at their own homes.

“Thank you very much dear for inviting us all over. It’s such a pleasure to see you again,” Arthur’s mother then switched over to talking to Amelia’s mother.

The mothers were talking and the fathers were talking and all Amelia or Arthur could do was sit and look at one another from across the table. Amelia made a face and Arthur stuck out his tongue and pretended to flick food off of his spoon. The both laughed but there was an awkwardness to all of it. The attraction that Arthur felt to the woman across the table was not romantic or sexual. But both of their parents sitting on either side were thinking the exact same thing.  _ Why hasn’t he proposed yet? When is the wedding? Where are my grandchildren? _

Arthur felt the pressure weighing heavier and heavier each time he spoke to his parents and it was even worse when they were all together like they were then. He looked back down at his plate and focused on eating. He caught bits and pieces of his mother and Mrs. Jones’ conversation but was not fully invested in it. He wasn’t really in the mood to invest himself in anything at that moment besides his plate of pre-made Costco food.

Once dinner had about wrapped up, Amelia and Arthur both helped clear the table and bring the dishes into the kitchen. Their parents remained at the table in the other room still talking and laughing with one another. As Arthur set the plates in the sink, he felt Amelia come up beside him and give him a little half-hug. He turned and hugged back with one arm.

“Thanks love. How do you think it’s going? Do your parents seem alright?” Arthur asked.

“They’re fine. Our dads are really hitting it off talking about politics or whatever. I’m not really listening to tell you the truth.”

“Me either. I think your mum is talking about making homemade pie crust or something like that,” Arthur said and let out a little sigh. He leaned with his back against the kitchen counter. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Do what?” Amelia asked softly. “We can’t just go out there and proudly announce that we’ve split up. Look, Artie, just please keep doing this? For me?”

Arthur sighed again. “Can’t we just tell them some time soon then? We could just split up and go off and meet other people and we wouldn’t have to talk to our parents again. Simple as that.”

“Artie...I like my parents. As disgusting as they can be sometimes, I love them. I can’t handle it right now if it turns out that they don’t love me back.”

The two of them were quiet for a moment and Arthur went to go grab a box of cookies they had bought for dessert. They hadn’t even bothered to put them on a plate or anything because dessert didn’t have as high of an expectation as dinner did. There was also the fact that neither of them really cared. 

“Artie…”

“Yeah?”

“I think I might have a girlfriend.”

Arthur took the box of cookies and left the kitchen, not giving a single glance back.

  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry again for a delayed update. Life is crazy with school and such. Thanks for being patient, here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy <3
> 
> (this chapter is stupidly raunchy and unapologetically gay and I have no regrets whatsoever)

It’s a perfectly normal feeling to be skeptical of a friend’s new boyfriend or girlfriend or significant other. In Arthur’s case, he was experiencing an awkward feeling of coming to terms with the fact that his girlfriend had a girlfriend and he was third-wheeling harder than he had ever third-wheeled before. Amelia had introduced him to Maddie Williams and they had spent time together. Amelia liked to invite Arthur to tag along on their dates sometimes (for what reason Arthur had no idea) but he was warming up to Maddie despite being the third wheel. Maddie was a woman of few words; she didn’t say much but when she did speak she was nice and intelligent and even funny sometimes. No matter what she was like though, Arthur was alright with it because Amelia was happy and that’s what mattered. 

So Arthur became the training wheels to the relationship bicycle. Also he had become accepting of the fact that he would now have to cuddle a pillow while Maddie and Amelia cuddled on the couch together. Third wheeling in your own home while having movie night (‘it’ll be fun Artie!’) isn’t a very reassuring experience. But that’s how life was going, and Amelia liked Maddie and vice versa so Arthur could suck it up and wait for his own life to move on. Well, until Amelia wanted to barge in on that too.

“Artie, have you ever thought about playing tennis?”

The three of them sat around the kitchen table having a beer one night. They had gotten on the subject of boys. The word ‘boy’ still made Arthur uncomfortable even though the fact of the matter was that he was a boy himself. Of course the lesbians thought it was fun to talk to Arthur about ‘gay things’ although Arthur himself was having a hard time swallowing any of it, let alone chewing.

“What do you think I am, a middle aged mother?” Arthur asked.

“No I was just suggesting tennis as a way to possibly get yourself out there.”

Arthur rolled his eyes and took another drink. “So now you’re making the assumption that everyone who pays tennis is gay? Or that all gay men play tennis?”

“Short shorts, Arthur. Short shorts,” Amelia said.

Arthur snorted and Maddie looked somewhat amused. She hadn’t said much but hadn’t interjected when Amelia began her badgering.

“I mean, I’m not saying tennis is the way to go, but I think Amelia is sorta right. You should do something social but on your own terms for your own reasons. If you wanted to get laid there are obvious other ways to do that. No offense babe but I don’t think tennis is gonna get anyone laid,” Maddie said.

“She’s right,” Arthur nodded, “tennis isn’t going to get me laid. Short shorts or not. And just because you think I need somebody doesn’t mean that I do. I can handle myself, thank you very much.”

“Wow, salty…” Amelia muttered and took a drink of her beer.

Maddie let out a little laugh and shook her head. “Guys, I think both of you are right. Arthur, it’s true that you can handle yourself. Amelia, it’s true that Arthur should get himself out there a little more. So why don’t the two of you do something together as friends? It doesn’t have to be boyfriend-hunting. You two need some chill time together.”

They were all quiet for a moment as Arthur looked at Amelia and Amelia looked back at him. Maddie certainly knew how to be the voice of reason.

Arthur leaned back in his chair and shrugged. “Maybe that’s not the worst idea…”

* * *

 

“This is a very bad idea.” 

Hot yoga had not been what Arthur had in mind for ‘chill time’ with Amelia. In fact, he never had this in mind at all. One of the first words that came to Arthur’s mind when thinking about himself was uncoordinated. Sure he had played sports and such as a kid but he was not coordinated in any way. There was also the fact that he was severely out of shape, not in the sense that he was fat but in the sense that he was most likely going to epically suck at yoga.

The room they were in was a million degrees (given the name ‘hot yoga’) and full of the sort of women you would assume played tennis as well. Arthur found himself as the only male in the dance-studio-esque room of assorted pink yoga mats. Arthur found himself next to Amelia on his own pink yoga mat wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts. Not only was he the only male in the room but also the only one not wearing stretchy black yoga pants. The only level on which he matched everyone else was that everyone was barefoot.

Amelia glared at Arthur. “Stop whining. It’s gonna be relaxing. Just try to enjoy something for once in your life, okay?”

Arthur was about to reply with something angry but the room had fallen silent. All eyes were on the yoga instructor who had arrived and signaled that class was about to begin. Arthur turned to pay attention to the yoga instructor, only to find himself already losing his balance while standing on both feet.

Suddenly Arthur understood why it was called hot yoga. The yoga instructor flashed a dazzling smile at the class and Arthur could swear one of the middle aged women nearly fainted on her yoga mat. He was tall, blond, your typical attractive features. Add that to a very nice body and a perfect yoga-pants butt and there you had the reason why all these ladies showed up for yoga class every week.

Arthur could feel his chest tightening with some sort of disgust. That would be the correct term; disgust. He was not only disgusted with himself for thinking this man was attractive but he was disgusted with the yoga instructor for being the yoga instructor. Arthur was so good at judging people he could win an award for it and by the judgement of the hot yoga instructor he could already tell that he was a massive dick. Either that or he had a massive dick because you could see it through the yoga pants if you looked hard enough but that was dumb because Arthur wasn’t looking. Of course not.

“Welcome everyone. If this is your first time, my name is Francis. This room is the nest. Here in the nest you are safe, you can relax. The nest is a safe place. This is a time to put judgments aside and focus on you. Now let’s stretch out,” Francis said and smiled again.

Seeing this guy smile was making Arthur want to march up there and smack it right off his face. Well, first he’d smack him and then he’d let Francis smack him right back. As Arthur thought about this he was interrupted by everyone sitting down on their yoga mats and sitting with their legs criss-crossed. Arthur quickly sat down and did the same.

“You set me up, didn’t you?” Arthur whispered angrily over to Amelia.

Amelia shook her head although she was visibly trying very hard not to laugh. “I didn’t set this up, I swear. I didn’t know this guy was gonna be like, well, like  _ this _ .”

“I swear to God if you think this is funny-”

“Now as we go into butterfly position, remember to stay quiet so we can all relax and focus,” Francis said from the front of the room as he looked directly at Arthur. 

Arthur felt his face turning red and Francis gave him a little wink before looking away from him. Arthur felt the back of his neck and face getting even hotter. It was already hot in the room and the mixture of annoyance and embarrassment he felt wasn’t helping. He shot a nasty look at Amelia who returned it with a sort of innocent look as if to say ‘ _ sorry I didn’t know that the yoga instructor was gonna look like he just stepped out of a Calvin Klein underwear ad. _ ’

“Stand up nice and tall,” Francis instructed as the rest of them went through the motions with him, “spread your arms all the way out. Feel the energy from your toes to your legs. Through your hips and your torso, feel the energy in your arms and your fingers. Feel it through your shoulders, roll them back, look up. Take a deep breath. Feel it fill up your lungs. Concentrate on how that breath feels.”

This went on for a while as Francis instructed the class. They were guided into various positions including the tree and both the upward and downward dog. Francis wasn’t necessarily a bad teacher but Arthur still didn’t like him. Well, he did like him. But he didn’t. Arthur was trying to figure out how that could be as he went along with the motions. Amelia seemed to be enjoying herself though. She was naturally athletic and had a great sense of balance and strength. Arthur on the other hand was constantly falling and losing his balance. Holding the positions for a long time was difficult for him as well and he found himself really struggling at one particular pose.

They were in a side plank position with one arm stretched into the air. Arthur was struggling to keep himself up, his back curving and his arm that was supporting him beginning to shake. Suddenly he felt a pair of hands on his back fixing his form. 

“Here, make sure you aren’t curving your back. Remember to keep your arm straight and keep breathing,” Francis said quietly.

Arthur felt his breath hitch as he felt Francis’ hands on him and adjusted his position as he was instructed to. Once Francis had left his side though he felt his arm going even weaker than before and despite Francis’ advice, Arthur momentarily forgot how to breathe.

“Artie, you okay?” Amelia whispered  over to Arthur.

Arthur let out a frustrated little breath as he struggled to hold his pose. “No pun intended, but do you know how hard it is to do yoga with a boner?”

He heard Amelia snickering behind him and wanted to leave more than ever. Fortunately they changed their positions and Arthur was able to adjust his shorts. After that, the rest of the class continued to be just as frustrating. When the class finally ended, they were all sitting on their mats again with their legs criss-crossed. Arthur was sweating through his t-shirt and desperately wanted out of yoga class.

“Every class, I like to give you all a challenge. Today’s challenge is a supported headstand. You come over to the wall and kneel,” Francis said as he began to demonstrate.

He went to the wall and kneeled in front of two foam blocks. Francis continued to explain what he was doing as he kneeled forward so that his shoulders were resting on the foam blocks.

“So now what you do is push yourself up with your hands, bringing your legs to the wall...and now you’re doing a headstand!”

Sure enough, Francis was against the wall doing a headstand with his arms and shoulders supported by the foam blocks. The women in the room all clapped and began chattering about who wanted to try it themselves. Francis rolled his legs down and out of the headstand and got back up on his feet.

“Don’t be afraid. If you want to try, I encourage you to try. I promise I’ll help and make sure you don’t fall,” Francis encouraged.

Lots of the women wanted to try but Francis seemed to have another idea in mind. Arthur looked and up and was met by Francis’ pretty blue eyes looking at him. Arthur immediately shook his head and stood up to put his shoes back on.

“Why don’t we have our one and only boy in the room come give it a try. Lead the way, no? Come on, don’t be shy,” Francis said, coming towards him.

“No no no, no thank you. Thank you for the offer, but I er, I can’t. I can’t do that. I’m not a yoga person or whatever. I’d fall, take a nasty spill, you know-”

“You won’t fall, I promise. I’ll hold you so you don’t get hurt.”

Arthur shook his head and felt the redness returning to his face. “Really, no, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“It’s a great idea! Artie, just try it. Come on, you can do it,” Amelia piped up from beside him.

“You’re not helping,” Arthur muttered under his breath and shook his head again.

“Please, Artie, was it? Just give it a try Artie,” Francis came up to Arthur and took his hand to lead him towards the front.

“My name is Arthur, thank you,” Arthur began and was about to continue protesting but he was already in front of the foam blocks.

“Go on, kneel.”

(When a man that attractive tells you to kneel for him, you bet your ass you kneel.)

Arthur got on his knees and leaned forward to let his shoulders rest on the foam blocks. If one was to hear his internal monologue it would sound a bit like  _ shitshitshitshitshitshitshit.  _ Arthur put his hands on the floor and suddenly he felt Francis helping him push his legs up. Within a matter of seconds, Arthur himself was doing a headstand.

“Great job Arthur! Everyone, a round of applause please for Arthur here. Anyone who would like to go next is welcome to-”

Right as Francis said this he let go of Arthur’s legs. Arthur was unable to keep his legs up and all in an instant he felt his legs falling and his arms giving out. There was a loud gasp in the room as Arthur fell heels over head and ended up sprawled out on the floor. Everything seemed to hurt as all the women in the room were gasping and crowding around him to see if he was okay.

“Arthur! Artie, are you okay?” Amelia’s voice rang out among the group as she hurried towards him.

Arthur finally opened his eyes, his legs and head throbbing where he had hit them. His elbows and forearms hurt as well from the fall. Everything seemed to be hurting on his entire body. But as Arthur opened his eyes, he was looking right up into Francis’. Francis was hovering over him with a terrified and worried look on his face. When Arthur’s eyes opened, Francis let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank God you’re alright, are you okay? Do you need something for your head?”

Arthur reached his hand out a little bit but then flinched from a pain in his arm. Francis still looked incredibly worried as he hovered over Arthur laying there on the ground.

Arthur looked up at him, holding eye contact. “A-am I in heaven? Because you’re an angel.”

The look on Francis’ face slowly shifted from one of worry to one of anger as he realized what was going on. He stood up and took a step back from Arthur. His eyebrows knitted together and his eyes turned to slits. To put it simply, he seemed pretty pissed off.

“Excuse me? I thought you were hurt! Do you know how much trouble I could have been in? I could’ve lost all of my customers! I could’ve been faced with lawsuits, hell, you could have sued me!” Francis exploded.

All the little middle aged yoga women suddenly looked very awkward and frightened. They were beginning to catch on that the dreamy yoga guy was not in the mood to be his usual self. The women began shuffling out of the room to collect their water bottles and such until the only ones left were Arthur, Francis, and Amelia. Arthur propped himself up on one elbow and frowned up at the other two.

“ I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to-” 

“Whatever. Just, please do me a favor and don’t come back. Okay?” Francis snapped.

Amelia offered out a hand and helped Arthur up. The fall had in fact hurt his legs and standing up made it worse. Arthur just nodded in understanding at Francis’ words and looked away from him. It had been a stupid move to pull and Arthur hadn’t known what the hell he was even thinking. He didn’t want to look Francis in the eye ever again, much less come back for another class.

“Yeah...okay.”

There was a moment of quiet as Francis pulled out his cell phone and typed something into it. He then handed it to Amelia who showed it to Arthur who was still hanging on to her shoulder for support. On the screen was a series of numbers, or more specifically a cell phone number.

“Look, I could see your boner literally the entire time. You’re absolutely disgusting...call me sometime.”

Arthur could feel himself choke up and Amelia had to support even more of him on her shoulder.  “Thank you, Francis. That was a great class by the way. So I guess he’ll, uh, see you around?”

Before Francis even got a chance to reply, Amelia had already dragged Arthur out the door to avoid any further injuries.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am soooooo so so so sorry that this chapter has taken forever to upload. I've been really busy with school lately (and I've also been watching WAY too much Gossip Girl) and I'm so sorry it's taken me this long. 
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is short and awkward and goofy so I hope you enjoy <3

The winter had officially come to an end when hockey season was officially over. Of course, hockey season was never over for Maddie who was the girl’s team head coach at a state university. But the fact that the biggest winter season was over that meant Amelia had more time with Maddie to herself. Maddie had been busy and still coached year round. She was in the middle of setting up summer clinics and working with the other athletic director but for the time being all she really had to focus on was Amelia and the softball team. Not that Amelia minded that. 

Softball games were separate from date night. Games were a group activity and Amelia had been introduced to more of her teammates. There was only one other lesbian on the team but all of them were fully supportive of Maddie and Amelia. Softball games weren’t serious but they were competitive. It was a fun environment to be in, however real date nights were not spent at softball games. Sometimes they were spent at baseball or hockey games. But more often than not, Amelia and Maddie found themselves sharing lots of time together even if they weren’t doing much of anything at all.

"Okay, you pick the movie tonight. I picked last time so it’s your turn but pleeease no baseball movies, I am actually sick of baseball right now,” Amelia said as she sat down on the couch next to Maddie.

They were having movie night at Amelia’s place and were curled up on the couch together. Amelia was wearing Maddie’s favorite Maple Leafs sweatshirt that she had stolen from Maddie’s car. They were cozied up under a blanket and had a bowl of popcorn between them on the couch. Maddie was scrolling through Netflix trying to find a movie to watch that was not about baseball.

“Wait so no Moneyball?” She asked.

“Great movie, but no. No baseball movies.”

“Remember the Titans?”

“So when I say no baseball movies, you automatically go to football movies?” Amelia teased.

Maddie laughed a little bit and nodded. “Yeah, it’s a classic. What, do you want some cheesy romcom or something?”

“Maybe,” Amelia said and shrugged, “I mean, it’s your choice. But maybe not something sports related this time.”

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say that, besides talking about superhero movies. But that’s my rule for you, okay? Next time you can’t pick a superhero movie.”

“But what else is on Netflix?” Amelia complained.

“Something that isn’t about sports or made by Marvel.”

Ten minutes later, they were watching a baseball movie.

About halfway through the movie, Amelia had lay down so that her head was in Maddie’s lap. Maddie was still watching the movie but Amelia had closed her eyes and seemed to be asleep. Maddie looked down at her and smiled to herself. Slowly, she reached her hand down to hold Amelia’s hand as she slept. Amelia stirred slightly but held on to Maddie’s hand. Maddie leaned down a little to kiss her cheek and then continued watching the movie. It was quiet and peaceful, something that Maddie hadn’t had for a while. She herself closed her eyes and felt herself beginning to fall asleep when suddenly the front door banged open and something that sounded like an elephant came crashing into the kitchen.

Amelia immediately opened her eyes and sat up on the couch. Maddie stood up, letting the blanket fall. The sounds coming from the kitchen indicated that somebody was most definitely home. Amelia stood up from the couch as well and began to head into the kitchen to see what was up. The only other person who could’ve gotten in was Arthur. However, it didn’t sound like it was just Arthur by himself.

“Oh, fuck-”

If there was anything that Amelia nor Maddie had wanted to see, it was two men going at it in the middle of the kitchen during their movie night. One of those men being Arthur who was leaning against the kitchen counter with Francis the yoga instructor on top of him. Arthur’s hands were in Francis’ hair and his shirt was undone and God only knows where Francis’ hands were. Amelia cleared her throat very loudly and suddenly the two boys stopped cold. Arthur slowly moved his hands down to Francis’ shoulders and turned to face the two girls standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

“...hi,” Arthur greeted them with a little sigh and a half-amused half-mortified look on his face.

“Someone’s a little tipsy…” Amelia commented, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Shit, is movie night tonight? Here?”

Amelia nodded very slowly while glaring at him. “Yup.”

“Oh, I am so sorry, I thought it was at her place. I am so sorry, really.”

The four of them sort of stood there for a moment looking back and forth at one another. Maddie and Arthur looked awfully embarrassed while Amelia looked annoyed and Francis just seemed amused by the entire situation. The silence was becoming even more awkward than the feeling in the room already was, until Francis decided to speak up. He removed himself slightly from Arthur and gave the girls a charming little smile.

“I don’t suppose either of you are feeling a little bisexual tonight?”

* * *

_ Three hours before _

“Arthur Kirkland, you clean up unexpectedly well.”

“I’d say the same to you, however your ego is already taking up a third chair.”

Romantic dinner dates had never been Arthur’s forte, but then again, he had never been on a romantic dinner date with Francis Bonnefoy before. Francis sat across the table from him looking as handsome as ever. Arthur had dressed up as well for occasion and had even bothered to wear a tie. The restaurant was classy and fairly upscale and Arthur hadn’t expected any less.

“You’re so charming Arthur, I just love that about you.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you as well as that shirt does.”

“Why thank you, it matches my eyes.”

Arthur folded his napkin onto his lap and Francis did the same. There was a candle on the table and a little vase with a flower in it. Too perfect. Arthur fought the urge to run to the bathroom and get sick over the toilet bowl.

“I want to apologize for the other day. That was completely uncharacteristic of me,” Arthur said.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s over now. You’re still not allowed in my yoga studio any more though.”

“For good reason, I suppose,” Arthur laughed, “I really am sorry though.”

“It’s fine, you know that happens all the time. I get all the old ladies doing headstands and falling and suing me and the studio. Happens on a daily basis.”

“What about guys? Do you have many guys that come in and purposefully get hurt just to make an ass of themselves?”

Francis chuckled and took a sip of his wine. “Surprisingly there aren’t many guys who attend my yoga class. It’s mostly all those soccer-mom type women who think that yoga class and Chobani yogurt will change their lives.”

“Well, doing the downward dog in your class is probably the only thing they’ve been doing doggy-style lately.”

“You’re funny, Arthur. I like you,” Francis laughed.

“Oh I bet you say that to all the guys who get hurt in your yoga class.”

“You’re assuming I know more guys named Arthur.”

“I bet you know a lot of different guys.”

“Is that a gay joke? Remember, you’re on a very romantic date with another man right now.”

“Yes but I’m betting that most of these ‘very romantic dates’ end with you bringing someone else home in a doggy bag to have for later.

“Wine, dine, sixty-nine. In that order.”

“Sorry, no genitals in the mouth on the first date. Just not the kind of guy I am.”

“What about the second date?”

“You’ll be lucky if there is a second date.”

"Excuse me gentlemen, are you ready to order?” The waiter suddenly asked from beside them.

They ordered their food and continued chatting a bit more. As the night went on, the conversation got slightly more civilized. Francis was pretentious as all hell but he wasn’t terrible company. It turned out that he had been an yoga instructor for a long time and was a general all-around wellness enthusiast. He wasn’t the sort of guy to live at the gym, but rather was an advocate for yoga, meditation, and the works. He was passionate about food and cooking, particularly healthy things. Arthur felt like a bit of a slob as he listened to all of this but they did manage to find level ground with certain topics. They were about wrapping up with their meals when the waiter came to take their plates.

“Could I please have a doggy bag for this?”

“Wow you’re hilarious,” Arthur said and rolled his eyes.

“You were the one who said that I take things home in doggy bags.”

“I didn’t mention the food.”

“Arthur I don’t think you would fit in a doggy bag.” 

“Not what I meant.”

“Maybe my car would be a better way to take you home.”

The waiter came back with a take-home container for Francis’ food and just as Arthur planned on leaving, Francis requested to see the dessert menu.

“Dessert? I didn’t know this was a dessert type of outing.”

“Closure is always necessary. If there is one important thing that I have learned in life, it is that no good meal is complete without closure.”

“Closure? You can’t just call it dessert?”

“Nope. And how does chocolate mousse sound?”

“Anything chocolate is fine with me.”

“Perfect. Natural aphrodisiac.”

“So that’s why you’ve picked it?”

“It’s as if you can see right through me.”

“Well maybe you’re just not as clever as you think.”

They ordered their dessert and continued the banter throughout the rest of the night until they left the restaurant. Francis had picked Arthur up beforehand so the only way he would be getting home was with Francis as well. Francis opened the door to the car for Arthur and he got in the passenger’s side. Francis got in after and they drove back home to Arthur and Amelia’s place. As they talked during the ride home, Arthur’s mind suddenly began racing. Here he was in Francis’ car. Francis giving him a ride home. Good first date, as far as first dates go. What if Francis walked him to the door. What if they went inside. Was Amelia home? No, she was at Maddie’s for the night. It sounded incredibly stupid but Arthur felt almost, well, nervous.

Once they arrived, Francis parked the car and they sat there for a moment. He turned to look at Arthur and gave him a warm little smile.

“Thank you for tonight. You’re actually not as embarrassing as I thought you would be,” Francis said.

“That’s quite the compliment, coming from you. You’re not so bad yourself. Honestly, I had a nice time. Thank you for dinner and for driving me home.”

“It’s no problem. Here, I got these for you.” Francis reached into his coat to pull out a rose that had gotten a bit squashed in his pocket.

“Oh god you’re so cheesy,” Arthur laughed, accepting the flower.

Francis laughed along with him and shrugged. “I stole it from the restaurant so I guess it could’ve been cheesier.”

“Thanks, I guess…” Arthur’s voice trailed off as the two of them just sat there sort of looking at one another.

Before Arthur could say anything, Francis had already leaned in and kissed him. It didn’t happen slowly like it was supposed to happen in Hallmark movies; instead it happened sort of quickly where suddenly Arthur had undone his seatbelt and Francis’ and the space between them was smaller. Francis was a very good kisser, not that Arthur had lots of kissing experience but he could tell that Francis did. Francis probably had more experience doing a lot of things and suddenly Arthur felt nervous again. He suddenly pulled away from Francis, completely out of breath.

“I’m sorry if you didn’t-” Francis began.

“No, no, it’s fine. I, er, liked it.”

A small grin appeared on Francis’ face. “I thought you weren’t that type of guy.”

“Well that was before we ordered closure, wasn’t it?”  

Francis laughed and moved in to kiss him again. “Yes, it was.”

“Hey, wait, do you wanna, erm...I dunno, do you wanna go inside?” 

"I thought you'd never ask."

 

 


End file.
